But with seven buses on the road, three buses out of commission and new buses costing as much as $400,000 apiece, officials are exploring alternate plans to keep the service running.

City councilors from Auburn and Lewiston voted unanimously Tuesday night in favor of allowing the Lewiston-Auburn Transit Committee to pursue a number of options for buses.

By repurposing capital reserve funds, LATC would use money that had been set aside for the purchase of new businesses to be instead used for buses or leasing one or repairing existing ones. The fund has $160,000 in it.

As of Tuesday, all routes were covered by seven operating buses. The drivers and maintenance workers are provided by Western Maine Transportation Services.

LATC had two buses removed from service in September. They were Thomas SLF buses and removed because of corrosion. Seven of the same model of bus have been removed from service in Bangor.

Low-floor buses were introduced in the United States because they are accessible for people with disabilities. Low-floor buses also help people with strollers and mobility issues. However because they are low to the ground, they are vulnerable to corrosion from calcium chloride during the winter.

“The corrosion problems were so bad on those buses,” said Phil Nadeau, deputy city administrator for Lewiston. “Bangor has seven of those buses, and all seven are off the road.”

Nadeau, the chairman of the Lewiston-Auburn Transit Committee, said another type of bus keeps breaking down. Two of the so-called Blue Bird, low-floor buses are waiting for repairs.

“They've been historically very undependable, historically very difficult the deal with in terms of parts availability,” Nadeau said. “Lots of things have happened to those buses that basically make them inoperable either one at a time or in some cases all four at the same time."

Greater Portland’s Metro has offered to sell three 1997 buses to LATC for $2,000 each. Another option would involve leasing a bus, as well as doing overhauls on existing city buses. There was no estimate on the cost of leasing or repairs.

Bus driver Ron Houle said Tuesday he was driving the Cadillac of the fleet, a bus that works and is safe.

Forty years ago, one of the greatest boxing matches in history took place in an unlikely setting: the capital of the Philippines. Muhammad Ali's epic win over great rival Joe Frazier in 1975 became known as the "Thrilla in Manila."